Mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers, frequently include media recording capability, such as the ability take photos or record videos. As recorder technology advances, recorded data may be quite large. For example, many smart phones now include 8 megapixel (MP) cameras which may capture uncompressed high bit-depth images with file sizes in the range of 48-64 megabytes (MB). High resolution video may be significantly larger, with sizes of 400-700 MB per second, depending on bit-depth. Uncompressed media data sizes only promise to increase in the future.
However, network speeds are not keeping pace with the increase in file sizes. For example, current cellular data connections may be up to 19 megabits per second (Mbps) for an upload, and while this is likely to increase, large data files will still take significant amounts of time to transfer via such networks. Additionally, particularly in rural areas, network connectivity may be unreliable, intermittent, or via even slower legacy networks.
Online data backup services provide for remote synchronization and off-site backup of data files transmitted by remote devices, including mobile devices. However, with the above-mentioned large file sizes and slow or intermittent network connectivity, remote backup processes may take a significant amount of time to complete for each item. During this time, the device may be stolen, lost, or damaged, potentially resulting in permanent loss of the data.